NEWBURGH – With the holidays in full swing and the Fall 2017 semester at an end, the Mount Saint Mary College community had one last gift to give a Newburgh family in need this season.
The Napoli family suffered a tragic loss the day after Thanksgiving this year when their home was destroyed in a fire. Five of the Napoli children survived, but unfortunately, their mother and two-year-old sibling passed away.
In the wake of the tragedy, the Town of Newburgh Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the Orange Lake and Winona Fire Departments, and Walden Savings Bank came together to organize a gift drive for the children.
Meanwhile, Roger May, assistant director of Campus Ministry at the Mount, was trying to find something to do with extra food, clothing, and toys that the campus community had donated after the deadlines for previous Campus Ministry drives this season, which included providing 650 gifts for local families and sending clothing to storm-ravaged areas in Puerto Rico. The college had also collected dozens of food items during its recent Celebration of the Season Holiday Concert.
When May heard about the Napoli’s story, he knew exactly what to do.
Just a few hours later, May and Mount junior Alyssa Picard of Torrington, Conn. delivered two bags of clothes, cases of water, toys, and more than 60 food items to the Walden Savings Bank staff, who will send it on to the Napoli family.
Other Mount service projects this winter have included a coat drive sponsored by the Office of Alumni Affairs and Campus Ministry, the Mount Knights’ Adopt-a-Family initiative that collected more than 100 gifts for those in need, and an Honors Program gift-wrapping fundraiser for the Dominican Sisters of Hope.
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WaldenSavingsBank1.jpg")
![](https://hudsonvalleypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/HVCU_Dec2024.jpg")
